Exodus - Movement of Jah Cousteau

The festive season brought both good things and sad things to the Millbrooker household. Boxing Day was one of those very-mixed-feeling days as we gathered en-famille at the Cross Keys Inn in Cawsand for lunch.

And a jolly fine lunch it was, too. It was, though, the last lunch we are going to share with Jah Cousteau for no-one knows how long.


As soon as the bill had been paid and the last dregs of ale had been drained, Mrs The Millbrooker and I had to leap into the car with young Jah and whisk him into Plymouth and the coach stop outside the Theatre Royal.

From whence he boarded the megabus to Bath to spend a couple of days with his dad.

Not before a hug with mum, mind you.

From his dad's place, Jah Cousteau set off on an odyssey that has no definite ending point.


Here's what we know - he left for Amsterdam to enjoy the New Year celebrations there. He left for Madrid the day after that and flew straight from Madrid via Rome to Buenos Aires on a one way ticket with no intention of returning permanently to the UK.


He's got enough to live frugally for a about a year before he has to find work and he'll have the company of a Spanish mate for the first eight weeks or so as they explore the length of Argentina. After that, the plan is to have no plan. Knowing Jah he'll try to long-board over the Andes.


Of course we think "good on you" and "I wish I'd done something like that when I was 23" - but saying cheerio for such an indefinite time is a hard thing to do.


I'll finish with a quote from our Christmas newsletter which we sent out with cards to people we'd not seen this year:

"[He] would rather like to find work, after his first year away, using his diving and marine conservation skills and then stay overseas, possibly permanently. We, of course, wish him well and every success – but will miss him greatly and fervently hope that his overseas adventuring will end with a permanent return to somewhere considerably closer to home than South America"

and thank heavens for Skype and Facebook!